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Is income the only constraint on child nutrition in rural Bangladesh?

1980; National Institutes of Health; Volume: 58; Issue: 5 Linguagem: Inglês

R Bairagi,

Poverty, Education, and Child Welfare

The importance of family income in relation to some other socioedemographic factors that might affect the nutritional status of children in the rural areas of Bangladesh was investigated. The factors analyzed in addition to family income were: age of the children; sex of the children; birth order; ownership of land by the family; father's occupation; housing conditions; season; sources of drinking water; father's education; mother's education; and participation of the children in food supplementation programs. The source of data for the study was was the Campanigonj Health Project, Noakhali. 517 children who were aged 3 years or younger in August 1974 were included in the study. Seasonal factors, family income, mother's education, and sex and birth order of the children appeared to be important determinants of malnutrition. An interaction between family income and mother's education in relation to child nutrition was quite apparent. A higher family income was of relatively greater benefit to the children of literate mothers than to those of illiterate mothers in improving the nutritional status. There was a threshold point below which income appeared as the primary constraint on child nutrition. A nutrition education program might prove helpful in improving the nutritional status of children of wealtheir families. The study was undertaken at a time when there was a state of famine throughout Bangladesh.